Gary Flockhart: Purple prose of Prince’s PR people

Gary Flockhart

WORD is that Prince will hit the road this year to celebrate his 35-year career with a number of gigs around the UK – but whether the Minneapolis maestro would include Edinburgh in any touring schedule, who can say for sure?

The famously reticent singer has so far been silent on the subject, beyond a rumour-fuelling hint from his ‘inner-circle’ that has raised hopes among fans that he will play his first multiple dates in the UK since 2007.

Asked by one of the red tops whether they could confirm this, the little purple fella’s representatives replied, rather cryptically, ‘EVERYTHING U THINK IS TRUE’.

We’ll take that as a definite, then, and dare to dream of hearing arguably the greatest back catalogue of pop songs of the past three decades (at least, I’d argue it is) at, say, Murrayfield, or Edinburgh Castle, followed by an intimate afterparty at some local hole-in-the-wall venue, where the so-called ‘Imp of the Perverse’ will go at it again for hours on end.

Rumours of Prince returning to the UK surface with regularity (Glastonbury is an annual rumour), but there could be some truth in it this time.

His Purpleness is 55 years old now, and is at the stage where he wants to celebrate his brilliant career.

He played dozens of gigs last year, including a recent three-night stint at Connecticut’s Sun Arena, where he showcased hits including Purple Rain, I Would Die 4 U and Let’s Go Crazy with a 21-piece band, and apparently enjoyed the experience so much he now wants to embark on a full tour.

Fuelling the rumours further are reports that the singer has appointed the appropriately-named Purple PR agency – who look after Jessie J, Lana Del Rey and Adele – to handle his tour publicity.

The omens are good for a UK tour, then, and it’s fingers crossed now for a Royal visit to the Capital.